After showering, Andrew went to get some rest, seeing as there were still over 12 hours left before the three frigates arrived, and he told everyone to get some rest as well.
All the ladies agreed, and even his new subordinates got to have some sleep in the additional crew quarters modules he had built when he took in the first fleet, knowing that sooner or later, some crew might need to have a place to sleep on the main station.
They all took turns at resting, with some of them keeping watch just in case the situation changed.
The new arrivals were surprised at the warm welcome they received from the station's inhabitants as the ladies shared some food that was compatible with their guests and even gifted them some of their clothes, as the ones they had were not much more than rags.
The ships that they used to get there still needed a lot of repairs, and it would take another 7 hours before they were ready for the return trip, so the ladies, along with their crews which all turned out to be female, took the opportunity to sleep in better conditions and eat something that at least tasted different than their rations.
It didn't take long before all the ladies were on friendly terms, and some even tried their hand at chess, which turned out to be a lot of fun for everyone.
During this time, they learned that most of the crews in their fleet were female, with barely any males as most of them got themselves killed in one way or the other and other pirate groups rarely spared males if they captured them, since females were much more precious as slaves.
This news didn't surprise anyone as all they had to do was to take a look at the survivors from their system, to see the same thing as Andrew was the only male survivor.
Andrew was also the main topic of the new arrivals' curiosity as the only male on the station and surrounded by so many females.
They all wanted to know what they had gotten themselves into, especially Zira and Kirna, who were now technically his slaves.
-You dont need to worry about it.
He won't touch you unless you provoke him to do so, and even then, it might take you a while to seduce him.
Aelita said, when both of them came to ask if he required sexual services from his slaves.
-Kirna has even less to worry about as he once told me that this kind of look is not appealing to him.
Moreover, as far as I know, I'm his only partner at the moment, and it took me a while to get him, not to mention I put a lot of effort into it.
The Cherin admitted with a proud smile.
-Why does it sound like you just called me ugly?
Kirna asked, not hiding her dissatisfaction.
-I did not; I simply said that he does not like this skinny appearance of most of our people.
Not to mention that if our theory is right, then our people should not look like that at all.
-The doctor told me about it and took a sample of my blood to do some tests.
The cheroni nodded, ignoring Aelita's comments about her looks.
-Well, the results should be available in a couple of hours, and then we will know what's going on.
Aelita said, hoping to solve this mystery once and for all.
She remembered Amerin's words about her being what the cheroni should be like, and the same was said by Andrew and Iliana right after her first regeneration treatment, but now she could finally get the proof she needed to be 100% sure about it.
-I have a question about something else.
Zira said, hoping to change the topic.
-You can ask, but I can't promise that I know the answer.
-What are these things under the wings of your fighters?
She asked directly.
-The long, slim ones are missiles; they are unguided, so it's relatively easy to dodge them, but they are impossible to take over or jam as there are no electronics in them.
As for the ones that look like barrels, they are called bombs, and they work similarly, with the difference being that missiles have their own propulsion system while bombs use the momentum from the fighter to reach their target.
Both of these are weapons and are quite powerful from what we have seen in tests.
Aelita explained.
-But wouldn't it be hard to hit anything with them without a guidance system?
Zira asked.
-Hitting a small target like another fighter is almost impossible, but they are not meant for that.
These weapons are meant to give the fighter a chance to take out a bigger ship or at least take down its shields.
Andrew once explained that they work best when used in a strategy called carpet bombing, whatever that means.
Aelita shrugged as this was the fullest extent of her knowledge about these weapons, other than knowing how to make them.
-I wonder if they will be used against the ships that are coming here?
Zira wondered.
-It might come to that, but I think that Andrew will try to take out the ships using the station's armaments and at a distance rather than sending in the drones to fight at a short range.
-Whatever he does, I just hope that he can win this; our fleet is in no shape to go looking for another master.
Kirna said, with a worried tone.
-Dont worry, we will win this for sure.
Aelita said, trying to comfort her.
-How can you be so sure?
Zira asked, surprised at her confidence.
-Because we have more than enough fire power to vaporize them, but Andrew wants to try and capture these ships to add to our fleet.
She explained.
-This station is equipped with 8 small MACs, 4 antiship rocket launchers, around 40 railguns, and over a hundred cannons and protected by tier 3 shields.
And that's only this station; some of the substations are also armed with railguns.
Add to that the frigate and the corvette class ships we have and the drone fighters.
With all of that, do you still think that three heavy frigate-class ships are a serious threat?
Aelita asked after she finished listing all the weaponry the station was equipped with.
-If you put it like that, the three ships dont seem so powerful anymore.
Zira said, while swallowing hard and being covered with a cold sweat.
Luckily for everyone, their new lord had taken them in, as plan B would most likely end up in a slaughter of their entire fleet.
In case of rejection, they were planning a desperate assault on the station, which, she had just learned, would be a suicide for all of them.
After some more talking Aelita excused herself and went to join Andrew in bed, to also get some rest before the battle.
For the next 8 hours, no one interrupted their sleep, so both of them woke up fully rested.
However, Andrew grumbled about nobody waking him up as he didn't want any special privileges simply because he was in charge.
This made Aelita laugh a bit.
-Darling, that's just the way it is; with power comes not only responsibility but also privilege.
She said while hugging him from behind.
-I know, but I dont want to have privileges if the others dont have them as well.
He answered, in a bit lighter voice.
Having Aelita around always made his mood better.
-Alright, we can talk about it later.
For now, we have at most two hours before the enemy arrives, and we still need to check everything.
She said, kissing him on the cheek and going to have a quick shower.
Half an hour later, both of them entered the command center only to find everyone present, and they looked rested as well.
-Good morning.
Andrew greeted everyone.
-Good morning, they all answered at the same time.
-Why didn't anyone wake me up earlier?
Andrew asked.
-It's my fault.
Nairin admitted in a tired voice.
Only then did he finally see that she was exhausted, and the reason was that she didn't sleep to let everyone rest while she worked on her assignment and kept an eye on the enemy ships.
-You, to your module and get some sleep, now!
Andrew said, a bit harsher than he intended.
-But..
-No buts. Move it, or do you want a quick sparring session to help you fall asleep?
He threatened her, and it worked like a charm.
Nairin almost sprinted out of the command center, seeing how angry Andrew was at her.
-There is a report for you on my console.
She quickly said, when she was passing him and she was gone.
Andrew shook his head a this situation.
-Why didn't anyone switch places with her?
He asked the rest of the ladies.
-Calm down; she tricked us into it.
Lan said, trying to pacify the angry human.
-When I left to get some rest, she said she would wake up Tarina shortly to switch with her, but she never did.
She didn't wake anyone up, and she even switched off our alarms to let us sleep longer.
The geologist explained the situation.
-We also just arrived and tried to scold her, but she told us that she did it to let us rest before the battle, and we can't blame her for that.
Hearing that, Andrew sighed.
This girl did what she wanted, not that he didn't appreciate her intentions, but she needed to learn that there was a time and place for everything, and making almost all of the crew oversleep, especially right before the battle, was not the wisest thing to do.
Not to mention that she was now exhausted as a result.
-Alright, what's done is done.
I'll talk to her about it later.
He finally said while sitting in the command chair and taking a look at the report Nairin had mentioned, while the ladies all got busy, double and triple chacking if everything was ready for the arrival of their guests.
Through the report he learned that all of the pirate ships got repaired and loaded with the first sets of module parts as well as some drones to put them together.
Taking a look at the sensor data, he saw that the modules were already in place, and Theresa's people were now bringing all the damaged stations to salvage their modules for themselves.
Other than that, the first 20 heavy fighters were ready and loaded, awaiting orders in hangar 7.
She also detailed all the upgrades she added to the station and substations as well as her progress with her assignment.
Finishing the report with a list of modules she had prepared for the three stations that were just sitting there waiting to be picked up by ships.
When he finished reading the report, Andrew had a headache as he had no idea if he should punish her or reward her for all the work she had done.
-The enemy ships just speed up; they will arrive within an hour.
Lanarine reported, before he could decide what to do about Nairin.
-Alright, make sure that everything is prepared and contact our ships to inform them about it.
Andrew ordered, pushing everything else to the back of his mind and focusing entirely on the incoming enemy.